Opinion - The Korea Times

ED Collapse of classroom

Restore teachers' dignity by reforming public education“Don't even step on the shadow of your teacher.” That's what Koreans who attended high school in the 1970s were taught.Every morning, parents told children on their way to school, “Listen to your teacher and study hard.” They even quoted a Joseon Dynasty dictum, “The grace of kings, teachers and fathers are all the same.”Half a century later, everything is upside down. Last Saturday, more than 30,000 teachers rallied in central Seoul for hours amid the scorching heat (33 degrees Celsius). Their pickets called for restoring teachers' workplace conditions and reforming public education.The participants, including thousands who came from the provinces by bus, wore black attire to express condolences for a colleague who took her life in an elementary school two weeks ago due to stress caused by malicious parental complaints. Late last month, a sixth grader assaulted his female teacher in the classroom, causing injuries that lasted for three weeks.It seemed as if the teachers mourned the death of Ko

Jul 30, 2023

ED Recurring human disasters

Government should take more responsibility for mishapOn Tuesday, the nine-member Constitutional Court unanimously rejected Interior Minister Lee Sang-min's impeachment. “From the viewpoint of the Constitution and the law, it is difficult to see the minister failed to fulfill his constitutional duty to protect the public in violation of the Disaster Safety Act and the National Civil Service Act,” it said.So, the top tribunal concluded this society should not punish even the safety-related minister for the crowd crush that left 159 people dead in Seoul's Itaewon district last October.The ruling might be legally indisputable, but it is totally incomprehensible based on common sense.The decision comes after the judiciary branch released all lower-echelon officials responsible for the tragedy on parole. No one is in jail 269 days after the human disaster occurred. Contrary to Lee's brazen claims, the toll might have been reduced had he or municipal officials dispatched more personnel earlier and operated them better.However, it took Lee 85 minutes to get to the scene in his &l

Jul 27, 2023

ED Action on climate crisis

Far-reaching transitions of systems are necessaryBy Jang Daul“Nothing changes unless we do something.” This quote from a Korean TV series on Netflix, “D.P.,” reminds of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission estimates for 2022 from the Ministry of Environment on July 25.The ministry said that last year's emission was 654.5 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2eq), decreased by 3.5 percent compared to 2021 and at the lowest level since 2010. It seems that we can hope to tackle the climate crisis. However, it's far too early to hope.First, the current national emissions reduction target itself is too weak to prevent irreversible climate disaster. Based on the best available scientific understanding, the international community agreed to limit global warming to 1.5 degree Celsius.Nonetheless, according to a global independent think tank, Climate Action Tracker, even if all the countries in the world meet their submitted 2030 targets it will lead us to 2.4 degrees warming. Furthermore, if we consider the current policies around the world we are on a pathway to

Jul 26, 2023

ED Gen. Milley's war-mongering

War of words feared to fulfill self-prophecy  North Korea fired two ballistic missiles into the East Sea late Monday.The North's latest missile launches come as a nuclear-powered U.S. submarine, the USS Annapolis, arrived at a naval base on Jeju Island.However, few major Western media outlets published the news as of Tuesday morning (KST). Instead, their primary interest regarding North Korea remained a U.S. soldier, a seeming military misfit and/or petty offender, who willfully crossed the border to enter the North last week.All this shows that Pyongyang's missile provocations no longer make news as inter-Korean accusations and threats escalate and become routine events. The North launched 65 missiles last year, more than once a week on average.Still, a top U.S. military official went too far recently.“I think that the Korean situation is an area that the United States could ― I'm not saying it will, but 'could' ― find itself in a state of war, you know, within a few days, with very little notice,” Mark Milley, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said d

Jul 25, 2023

ED Seoul should not offer lethal weapons to Ukraine

By John MerillEconomists use the term “moral hazard” to refer to taking on excessive risk because of assurances that someone else will cover your losses or, if worse comes to worse, will be there to bail you out. It is the same with alliances. Thus, whatever the merits of the Ukraine war, it would be a mistake to allow Kyiv to join NATO in the near term since it would increase the odds of the West becoming embroiled in a war with Russia.Ukraine's recent actions against Russia have become bolder and have raised the stakes of an escalating conflict. Kyiv is widely assumed to have been behind the latest attack on the Kerch Bridge that links Crimea to the rest of Russia. Ukrainian agents were also suspected of being behind the recent assassination of a Russian ex-navy commander who was killed while jogging in a park in the Russian city of Krasnodar.In addition, Ukraine has been implicated in the September 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea that carried natural gas supplies from Russia to Germany. Although Washington was reportedly tipped off in advan

Jul 24, 2023

[ED] Seoul should not offer lethal weapons to Ukraine

ED Politicized minimum wage

Provide substantive benefits based on objective criteriaAfter nearly four months of tug-of-war, next year's minimum wage has been set. As always, however, it satisfied neither employees nor employers while reaffirming problems with how the decision is made every year.The time has long passed to overhaul the system. Last Wednesday, the 27-member Minimum Wage Commission raised the wage floor by 2.5 percent to 9,860 won ($7.65) an hour and about 2.06 million won monthly. The increase rate was the second-lowest in history, falling short of the 3.4 percent inflation. Union representatives were right to express their frustration. “Real wages dropped,” they said.Still, Korea's hourly minimum wage is the 13th-highest worldwide, matching the nation's gross domestic product ranking. Owner-operators and employers hiring five workers or fewer criticized the commission for “failing to freeze” it for 2024.It took the commission ― comprising nine members, each representing employers, employees and the public interest, i.e., the government ― 110 days to decide. The period was

Jul 23, 2023

ED USFK at fault

Lax security leads to GI's defection to N. KoreaA dispute is growing fast following an American soldier's defection to North Korea at the border village of Panmunjeom on Tuesday. The controversy is focused on who should take responsibility for the botched handling of U.S. Army Private Travis King, 23, who carried out a seemingly willful desertion during a tour of the Joint Security Area (JSA). King was found to have escaped Incheon Airport's boarding area while waiting for an American Airlines flight back to his home country to face additional criminal punishment. He had been convicted earlier of assaulting Koreans and damaging a police patrol car during his service here last year. Several mysteries remain involving the soldier's defection. King was found to have falsely claimed that his passport was missing, an Incheon International Airport official told The Korea Times. The official said King approached an American Airlines official to say he did not have his passport and was thus able to exit the departure area under the escort of an airline official. Here we cannot help but quest

Jul 20, 2023

ED Korea needs a big idea

Seoul should play more proactive, creative global roleBy Troy StangaroneDating back to last year's presidential election, the Yoon Suk Yeol administration has sought to transform Korea's foreign policy to give it global reach and to advance Korea as a “global pivotal state.” In his article in Foreign Affairs, then candidate Yoon Suk Yeol in describing shifts in global foreign policy said that “South Korea should no longer be confined to the Korean Peninsula but rise to the challenge of being what I have described as a 'global pivotal state,' one that advances freedom, peace, and prosperity through liberal democratic values and substantial cooperation.”In taking part in the last two NATO summits and the recent G7 summit in Japan, the Yoon administration has taken initial steps towards raising Korea's global profile. Moving forward, how Korea chooses to contribute to global challenges and the development of global norms ― such as the values President Yoon has articulated ― will shape how successful Korea is in becoming a force in the international community.Add

Jul 19, 2023

ED Deja-vu tragedies

How much longer must people suffer?Korea has succumbed to the Monsoon rains' power once again. The seasonal downpours left 50 people dead or missing, 35 injured and more than 10,000 evacuated to shelters as of 8 p.m. Monday. It was the heaviest casualty from flash floods since 2011, breaking last year's 48 already. However, the death toll could rise as meteorologists warn of more heavy rains next week. This year's Monsoon season is not without elements of natural disaster. Officials and journalists used a new term, “extreme downpours,” which concentrate a summer's rainfall in a day or two. Unlike last year, the natural “water bomb” mainly hit rural areas, not large cities. Nevertheless, grabbing our attention more are human elements that made the damage disproportionately heavy. A case in point is the tragedy at a rural underpass some 80 miles south of Seoul. The underpass was flooded Saturday morning when a nearby rivulet overflowed after a levee was brought down by rising water levels, leaving 16 vehicles underwater. It claimed 13 lives at the time of writin

Jul 18, 2023

ED Boost hope for Ukraine

Korea's proactive roles essential as global pivot state President Yoon Suk Yeol made a surprise visit to Ukraine, Saturday, demonstrating Korea's steadfast solidarity and support for the war-torn country against Russia's invasion. Yoon vowed to offer extensive support for Ukraine in the areas of security and humanitarian assistance as well as postwar reconstruction.Yoon made the pledges as Ukraine has been suffering from enormous difficulties and setbacks due to Russia's inhumane aggression. Any attempt by a mightier state to undermine the sovereignty of another nation by force cannot be pardoned under any circumstances. Yet, regrettably, the tragedy of the war that began in February last year is being repeated every day. As a responsible member of the international community, the visit by the head of state of the Republic of Korea is very meaningful.Fresh from the two-hour summit, Yoon and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced a joint statement where the Korean leader pledged comprehensive support through the “Ukraine Peace Solidary Initiative.” Both le

Jul 17, 2023

Editorial